I lock all mine inside at night. . . even the over 100lb ones.
Sulcata Night Box And Great Way To Monitor Temp & Humidity
- Thread starter Johnkoch
- Start date
Thank You, my sulcata is only 15 - 16 lbs so I think locking him in at night is the way to go. I bought the Kane heat mat with the thermostat that you suggested, what temp should I set it to, 80 degrees?
Thank You Yvonne!! I think locking mine in at night is best at this point.
Yes, 80F.
- Joined
- May 3, 2015
- Messages
- 94
In what area do you live? This thing is fabulous!
Thank You!!! Frisco Texas
Thank You!!!! You've been a great help!!
- Joined
- May 3, 2015
- Messages
- 94
Oh my gosh - I live in Dallas near Plano!
@Johnkoch can you share some pictures of what the Temp Stick shows you as far as data collection? I'm intrigued 
Wow, Really!!! Right down the road!! Hey if you ever need any help etc. please let me know, I'd be glad to help!!!
Sure!! Here are some screen shots from my cell phone.@Johnkoch can you share some pictures of what the Temp Stick shows you as far as data collection? I'm intrigued
Wow that is amazing!! I wonder if I can get it in the U.K.
The box looks great and that temp stick looks very handy.
Thank You!! The Temp Stick is great I can check the temp/humidity at any time - at night, when I'm at work, when I'm on vacation, If my heater or humidifier happens to fail and fall below set parameters it will send me alerts. Well worth the $$$ in my opinion!!
Shedon's mom
New Member
Hi Tom, I had just sent you a long list of questions this morning and then found Johnkoch's post for the box for a tortoise just the size of Sheldon, with dimensions and all so, I "think" most of my questions have been addressed by this! For a non-handy person this looks a bit intimidating to build but we will give it a go. John nice work springing off of Tom's shared designs!
design
Member
I have so many questions so bear with me. I am a new tortoise owner. My Gatsby is 7" Sulcata and I have had him for about a month. His eating is great and have gotten a lot of advice on here. He is currently in a very large tank with a mat heater (for night) and lamps for basking in the day. I have a temp shut off/on switch. This is temporary while the weather improves and I am finished with his box. He LOVES to go and run around outside with supervision (yard is not done for him yet). Ok on to the questions...
1. You have a RHP (I think the same one I bought), a heat lamp, a Kane heat mat, and what looks like an oil radiator. Do they switch on and off for night/day or are they all on all the time or are they simply temp controlled?
2. I never thought about a humidifier for the box. Which one is that and does it run continuously?
3. What would be the downside to putting the box on casters to move it around?
4. Does your tortoise know to go in or do you put him in at night?
I am in Michigan and our night temperatures are still in high 40's to low 50's. Any box I build I would lock him in it at night until I was sure he knew to go into it himself.
1. You have a RHP (I think the same one I bought), a heat lamp, a Kane heat mat, and what looks like an oil radiator. Do they switch on and off for night/day or are they all on all the time or are they simply temp controlled?
2. I never thought about a humidifier for the box. Which one is that and does it run continuously?
3. What would be the downside to putting the box on casters to move it around?
4. Does your tortoise know to go in or do you put him in at night?
I am in Michigan and our night temperatures are still in high 40's to low 50's. Any box I build I would lock him in it at night until I was sure he knew to go into it himself.
I plug all heating devices into a temperature controller that turns them on and off as needed to maintain 80F. Tortoises don't always do what is good for them. Usually you have to put them in until they get used to the idea, then they will go in on their own. You still need to check on them to make sure they go in every night. I don't know about putting casters on the box. You would need to be able to anchor it so it wouldn't move around while the tortoise is trying to get inside. Also tortoises get used to things as they are so they would expect the box to be in the same place night after night.
First I want to say my wife is from Michigan (Bay City) and we are thinking about retiring in Traverse City!! We are going to Traverse City in July to look at property and houses, retirement is not for another 5-8 years but trying to plan ahead. I live in the Dallas Texas area now and the temps have been in the 90's since I completed the night box so I don't think the heaters have been coming on much if any.
Question #1: RHP is a 160watt panel from Reptile Basics ($119.99) and is controlled by the Vivarium Electronics VE-300 ($139.99) which is set to 81 degrees. I have the heat lamp connected to a timer that will turn it on and off during the day and night (have not set this up to turn on and off yet). The Kane heat mat I have is the 27" X 36" double mat that is controller by the Kane thermostat, which is set to 80 degrees. I have a oil filled radiator, Costway oil filled radiator heater ($40.99, Amazon) but not sure if I'll need it or not. I bought it just in case I need it, for the winter, if the RHP can not do the job. So to answer your question they are all on controllers.
Question #2: The humidifier is a Evergreen pet supplies reptile humidifier/reptile fogger ($53.99, Amazon) which is controlled by the Inkbird AC 110V Digital prewired outlet dual stage humidifier controller w/ sensor ($36.99, Amazon). I also have the Zoomed Hygrotherm Humidity and temp controller on my indoor enclosure and it works great also, it controls heater and humidifier ($69.32, Amazon). The controller is set to 77% humidity, I mainly added it for the winter months when it gets super dry.
Question #3: I was actually thinking about putting it on casters but since it's on my patio I figured once I get it in place I wouldn't move it much anyway (this thing is very heavy and would require some heavy duty casters). Plus we have black widow and brown recluse spiders here and did not want them to take up residence under it or any other critter.
Question #4: At this point he has not gone in on his own, has came out on his own. I think this is due to the fact that he was kept in an indoor enclosure up to this point and I would take him in and out to go outside. So I think it's something that he will learn over time. So the answer is I put him in at night and lock the door and in the morning I unlock the door so he can come out when he wants.
Hope this helps!! If you have anymore questions please ask, I will be happy to answer if I can!!!
design
Member
Ok one more question. I do not see any UV lights. Do you use them in the winter when yours cannot go out as much or because the weather isn’t bad enough he goes out in the sun?
Yeah he gets all the UV he needs at this time from the sun. In my indoor enclosure I used three Zilla 18" slimline desert fixture with the 50 UVB T8 fluorescent bulb (my indoor enclosure is 8' long X 3' wide X 3' high). I might end up adding a light in the winter if it gets to cold for him to go outside. We'll see what winter brings.
